The night attack on Yangmingbao, a famous battle familiar to countless Chinese, was written by Chen Xilian, who was the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. At that time, the Eighth Route Army destroyed 24 Japanese aircraft at Yangmingbao Airport, annihilated more than 100 airfield guards, effectively supported the battle on the Xinkou Battlefield, and greatly increased the morale of the Chinese military and people.
Some people say that Yangmingbao Airport is so important, why did the Eighth Route Army destroy more than 20 planes so easily? Could it be that the Japanese army was arrogant enough to guard the airfield with only more than a hundred people? In fact, the Japanese army stationed a company nearby, and the number of troops was abundant, but these Japanese troops could not prevent Chen Xilian from entering yangmingbao airfield. It was not that the Japanese army was negligent, but because the Japanese army was impressed by a previous battle, this company only cared about defending one direction of Yangmingbao, but it was exploited by Chen Xilian.
This battle was the battle to retake Yangmingbao. The battle was arguably so little known that it was necessary to dig into Nationalist sources and local county records to restore the full picture of the battle. The troops who participated in this battle were not the three divisions of the Eighth Route Army as we know them, but the lesser-known Eighth Route Army Special Forces Regiment.
After the July 7 Incident, the Japanese army invaded Shanxi, and Yangmingbao as a strategic center was the focus of the two sides. According to pre-war recollections, the 19th Army, which was tasked with defending Yangmingbao, was asked to "do its best to stop the enemy from advancing." However, from October 3 to 4, only more than a thousand Japanese troops captured Yangmingbao. The Japanese army established a deep position with Yangmingbao as the strategic fulcrum, which could be attacked and retreated.
What's more, Yan Xishan built an airfield at Yangmingbao, but the defenders did not have time to destroy it before they fled, and as a result, Yangmingbao airport and supplies including 2,000 boxes of gasoline became the spoils of the Japanese army. On October 11, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters Special Task Force crossed the Tuotuo River and began to fight near Dai County, bringing back information that Japanese aircraft had entered Yangmingbao.
Japanese artillery at the Battle of Xinkou
Because the special service regiment did not have enough communication equipment at that time, and had been fighting behind enemy lines for a long time, there was no record of which unit conquered Yangmingbao in our army's data. According to Kuomintang data, it was the 115th Division that conquered Yangmingbao, but there are also sources that it is the 120th Division, and it is not known who is true and who is false in comparison. However, according to the records of the 115th And 120th Division at that time, no troops attacked Yangmingbao.
Although it is impossible to determine which unit it is, the telegrams of the Nationalist army can confirm that Yangmingbao was indeed captured by the Eighth Route Army. For example, on October 14, a telegram from the Headquarters of the Nationalist 15th Army mentioned that Yangmingbao and Daniudian had been occupied. However, it can be inferred from some only words at that time that it was indeed the special service regiment that conquered Yangmingbao. For example, the Daixian County Chronicle is recorded, and a report by the Special Agent Group also mentions that some victories were achieved near Yangmingbao in Daixian County on October 14.
The daixian county chronicle can be said to be very detailed, not only recording that the special service regiment participated in the battle, but even recording the battle of the 3rd battalion of the special service regiment, battalion commander Li Hehui. On October 14, the 3rd Battalion was operating near Dai County when it spotted a rare fighter.
Although the Japanese army centered on Yangmingbao, the Japanese army was overconfident and never expected that the enemy would penetrate deep into their hinterland, so only a small number of troops were deployed in Yangmingbao. The 3rd Battalion of the Special Forces Regiment picked up the black leak under the lamp. Li Hehui saw this opportunity and led his troops to raid Yangming fort, the Japanese army was defenseless, thinking that there was a large army pressing the border, and was driven out of Yangming fort by the 3rd battalion.
The Nationalist forces in the Battle of Xinkou
However, the 3rd Battalion only had one battalion of troops after all, and the Japanese army quickly mobilized its forces to counterattack after the reaction, and the 3rd Battalion knew that it was invincible and did not fight with the enemy. The 3rd Battalion withdrew shortly after capturing Yangmingbao and continued to hide in the mountains to fight guerrillas. On the Japanese side, after being caught off guard by the 3rd Battalion of the Special Task Force Regiment, they quickly strengthened the defense of Yangmingbao.
According to Chen Xilian's recollection, a company of the Japanese Xiangyue Division suddenly came to Yangmingbao. It should be known that at that time, the Battlefield of Xinkou was very anxious, and the Japanese army was also very tense, so suddenly transferring a company to Yangmingbao showed that the Japanese army was indeed scared. However, the focus of the Japanese defense was northeast of Yangmingbao, and Chen Xilian's troops were in the town of Sulongkou, which was southwest of Yangmingbao. Chen Xilian took advantage of the loophole of the Japanese army to fight another cold defense, destroying 24 planes at Yangmingbao Airport.
Schematic of the Battle of Yangmingbao
The 3rd Battalion that had previously withdrawn from Yangmingbao did not go far, and when Chen Xilian attacked Yangmingbao Airport at night, the 3rd Battalion also provided help. However, in the subsequent Battle of the Hundred Regiments, Li Hehui, commander of the 3rd Battalion, relapsed from old wounds in the Battle of Niangziguan and unfortunately died.
Years later, most people only knew about the night attack on Yangmingbao and the destruction of Japanese aircraft, but they knew little about the battle of the special task force to conquer Yangmingbao. In fact, in November 1937, shanghai's "Resistance to the Enemy" magazine published a photo of the Eighth Route Army, entitled "Yangmingbao, which was once rehabilitated by our Eighth Route Army", which was a way for everyone to understand. The DaiXian County Chronicle also records that the special task force conquered Yangmingbao.
The reason why this battle is little known is that the Eighth Route Army had few means of communication at that time, and many of the results could not be reported to the headquarters. On the other hand, the Battle of Xinkou was fierce, and the loss of the achievements of various units occurred from time to time. Under the wrong circumstances, the battle to conquer Yangmingbao was forgotten in the corner of history, and it was only in recent years that it was excavated from the vast historical materials.
There should be many forgotten battles like the reconquest of Yangmingbao, which are still waiting for everyone to discover in history. But the contributions of the Eighth Route Army and other soldiers of the War of Resistance will never be forgotten, and your names are unknown, but your exploits will last forever.